A fine hisorical drama about teh catastrophe at Chernobyl

Most of us have probably forgotten the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl in the 1980s, and most of us probably have no idea of the magnitude of the catastrophe nor of how it could have been even more serious and disastrous but for the brave actions of a few scientists and many other workers at or near the plant - particularly the firefighters, the miners who worked day and night to dig a tunnel to bring in a flow of cooling water, and the men who plunged into the contaminated network of piping to turn of key valves. Thousands of these people - plus thousands more from nearby towns that housed most of the workers at the plant - died quickly of radiation poisoning or later from various related cancers. Incredible story - and the Craig Mazin + Johan Renck production on HBO does a great job bringing the tension of these days to light. The focus is on two scientists (in particular one played by Jarred Harris, who seems to specialized in troubled middle age men who kill themselves) and a Soviet Comm Part hack charted with investigating the accident and effecting the clean-up. Lots of great, tense scenes as they confront obtuse  party leaders - who argue that there could not be an accident and any discussion of any such accident is anti-Lenin and anti-Soviet; we watch the party hack over time recognize the futility of his mission and the wreckage of his life - and we see the bravery of the scientists who risk everything by bringing the truth of the accident - a complete screw-up by the plant operators, under pressure from the government. The final episode, which is abased on the attempt to have a white-wash show trial but in which the scientists speak truth to power, is a little stagey and staid, but aside from that the series is an excellent historical drama that makes us wonder about the safety of nuclear plants today, despite all the assurances and palliatives.